The scene was filled with people running back and forth, crime scene tape everywhere and Hummers as well as cop cars and an ambulance. She stood there looking on in absolute awe until finally a man approached her. He was thin but taller. He had reddish blond hair and blue eyes, hid behind sunglasses that he took off just as he approached.
"Did you see anything, Ms.?"
His voice was low and smooth and easy listen to. "Charli. Charli Gibbens."
He flashed a half smile, taking in the long mousy brown hair and whiskey gold eyes. She was clean cut with her ears pierced at least twice, with one in the upper lobe. One of the earrings connected to the one in the upper lobe area. "Did you see anything Ms. Gibbens?"
She shook her head. "I just got out of school half an hour ago. Walked home and saw this."
He nodded lightly, said thanks and turned to walk away.
"Wait, can...can I ask you a question?"
He turned back. "Of course."
"You guys, you are the crime scene people, right?"
"We are Crime Scene Investigators, yes."
"With the police and stuff, right?"
He nodded. "Yes, with the Miami Dade Police Department."
"Do you guys ever look for, you know...interns and stuff?"
He studied her closely. "Generally, no. We don't. Unless you are in college for criminology. It's not really something people volunteer for."
She nodded and turned around. "Thanks anyway." she called, and started limping away.
Noticing the limp, he called out. "Are you alright Ms. Gibbens?"
She turned, her eyes holding a mix of desperation and disappointment. She followed his eyes to her leg and shrugged. "Yeah. I...I tripped the other day on the way to school. Cracked my knee on the sidewalk." and she kept walking after seeing him walk.
"Ms. Gibbens?"
She turned.
Grabbing a card from his pocket, he handed it to her. "My name is Lieutenant Horatio Caine. You come by this address on Monday after school, and we'll talk about a possible internship."
Her entire face lit up in a smile that made her look like a ten year old, instead of the sixteen year old that she was. "Thank you! You wont regret this! I swear!"
"See that I don't." he replied, smiling as she made her way into the apartment building across the street. It wasn't the most impressive place for a kid to live, but it wasn't the worst he'd seen either. He wondered how true it was about her limp. Oh well. If he knew anything, it was the excitement he saw in her face when he asked her to stop by Monday. He turned and walked back to the crime scene and wondered what the weekend would hold.
At three fifteen Monday afternoon a call came in to Horatio's cell phone. "Lt. Caine." he answered.
"Yes Lieutenant, there is a Charli Gibbens here, saying that she has an appointment with you for this afternoon?"
"That's correct, send her up, I'll meet her at the elevator."
The desk attendant pointed to the doors across the hall and told her to take it to the fourth floor. She did so, her heart pounding with excitement. She'd been so excited to get this chance. Ever since her mom's death, she'd always wanted to figure out who had killed her. And even though her mom's killer hadn't been brought to justice, she did remember...
Her thought process was interrupted by the ding and the doors sliding open.
"Ms. Gibbens. You made it."
"You doubted it?"
"I wasn't sure. You never can tell from time to time." and he half smiled.
She smiled back and nodded.
"You're not limping."
"It was just a bruise. No big. I'm a klutz, so I'm used to them."
That bothered him. He tucked the tidbit away as he walked her through and introduced her to the team. She met a tall black guy named Walter, a pretty blond named Calleigh, a pretty brunette named Natalia, a dark haired guy named Eric, and another with lighter hair named Ryan. "Everyone here does everything and you will shadow each of us from one time to the next. Then once we're done here, you'll move on to different departments."
She was so nervous, but so excited at the same time. She glanced at her watch. She had three hours until her dad was home. She could do this.
Keeping an eye on her watch, she observed everything until it was five and she knew she had to go home. She had been put with Calleigh and she looked over as she noticed. "Hey, I've got to catch a bus, is there one that lets out near here?"
Glancing up she nodded. "About half a mile from here. You need to go?"
"Yeah, I need to get home in time to get dinner on the table before my dad..." and she stopped. "Before he gets home from work, if he's had a bad day."
"Oh, okay. I understand. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then?"
Grateful that she didn't ask any questions, she nodded and smiled as big as everything. "Three fifteen, on the dot." and she grabbed her bag, heading out the door.
Horatio stepped into the room as she trotted down the hall. "Your impression?"
Calleigh studied the fading form, now gone in the elevator. "She wants to learn. I'm not sure why yet. But she's a hard worker, and she catches everything." then she looked over. "What are you doing H?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Why, whatever do you mean?"
"Uh huh." and she shook her head as she continued working on what they'd started on previously in the day.
It had been two weeks. Charli had been placed with Calleigh and Ryan, and was now going to work with Walter. Horatio looked at her and noticed a dark spot on the left side of her jaw, that she'd tried very hard to cover with make-up, and circles under her eyes. She was busy looking through a microscope when he appeared in the area.
"So, Ms. Gibbens. How do you like it here?"
She glanced up. "I like it. A lot. I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity."
"Well, you've been very easy to train. According to Calleigh and Ryan, you work hard, learn fast and are always here when you say you're going to be."
She smiled. "My mom, when she was alive, used to tell me that a persons word is worth everything, and to always be early if possible, never be late."
He noticed her smile fade quickly and a look of panic hit her eyes. "You alright?"
Charli glanced at her watch. "Crap! No! I've got to go! I have to run. He's gonna kill me!" and her hands started shaking lightly as she started stuffing her folder back into her backpack. She'd been working on a science project and had gotten permission to do it on DNA, as well as permission from the lab, to use examples from the training there.
Horatio didn't like how incredibly intimidated this kid was. "Who's going to kill you Ms. Gibbens."
She shook her head. "Not literally, but he's gonna be really mad."
"Who?"
"My dad. He doesn't like me even volunteering here, but I promised him it wouldn't interfere with...I have to go."
"Can I give you a ride?"
She faltered. "Can you drop me off a block from the apartment?"
He studied her carefully, really not liking where this conversation was going. "If it's necessary."
A breath of relief escaped her lips. She only lived ten minutes from the lab, but the bus took forever to get there and back. She jumped in the Hummer and buckled up almost before Horatio could get in.
"You seem rather afraid of your father."
Her breath hitched. "I...it's a long story. I just don't want to make him mad. He's been through a lot after my mom and...he just worries." and she looked out the window as the vehicle pulled away from the curb.
"How did you get that bruise on your jaw Ms. Gibbens?"
"I...I got into a fight with a bully at school."
"That's interesting. You know I talked to your teachers yesterday and they never said anything about you getting into a fight. They said you have a four point two GPA, you're graduating an entire year early, and you're an all around good kid."
She sat there, not replying to what he said. Then after moments of silence she breathed in heavily through her nose. "When you're smart like I am, you tend to not have any friends and people seem to pick on you for being so smart."
She was telling the truth. He could hear it in her voice. But there was more to it than that. She wasn't going to tell him any more though, so he wasn't going to push. He pulled up along the bus stop, a block from her apartment as promised. "See you tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Three fifteen."
"Alright." and he watched as she hurried down the sidewalk and into the building. Driving back to the lab he headed up the stairs and into where she'd been working with Walter. "What's your take on her?"
Walter looked up. "She's a perfectionist. And I mean damn near obsessive compulsive." then he nodded toward the work table and went back to looking through the microscope. "She also left her notes for her final project."
"Do you think it's a conditioned response?" he asked, picking up the papers.
He glanced up once more. "Based on the fact that sometimes she gets scared for making a mistake? Yeah."
"How many mistakes did she make?"
"Three. It was her first day with me and I think I intimidated her."
"I can't remember how many mistakes I made when I first started here."
"Me either." then he shook his head. "I don't like it H."
"That makes two of us. Thank you." and he headed down the hall to talk to Calleigh and Ryan, who both said the same thing. She was a perfectionist, though he did notice that Calleigh had mentioned that she didn't seem nervous around her when she made a mistake, but that she definitely made sure she did things right.
She was frenzied when he walked into the house, and he noticed it immediately. He couldn't stand when she was rushing. How was he supposed to relax after a hard day at the steel mill if she was running around? "You were late getting home weren't you?"
Her scared eyes gave her away every time. "What? I...no...well it was just a couple of minutes but..."
"Which is it? Yes or no?"
"Just a couple of minutes, dad. I swear."
He fist came down hard on the table. "Why do you lie to me?"
She jumped when he hit the table top and then backed up when he started toward her. She saw it coming but could do nothing to stop it. His knuckles cracked against the right side of her face and she fell, dropping the salad bowl she had been putting on the table.
"I told you I didn't want this shit interfering with your chores! Maybe I should stop you from going?"
"No daddy please! It's helping me with school and my final project so I can graduate early."
He glared at her. "You stay home tomorrow! You get everything cleaned up, and we'll talk. Stop your crying."
She hadn't realized she was. She tried not to do that in front of him because she knew he hated it. "I'm sorry. I promise, I'll straighten up. I'll get back on track."
He sat down, grabbing a beer out of the fridge and popping the top on it. "Don't make me regret it!"
She just knew Horatio was going to be mad at her for missing, but she couldn't do anything about it. She would just have to explain...and she halted, looking up after walking to school and recognizing the familiar silver Hummer parked at the curb. Everyone was staring when the man leaned on the side of the vehicle, straightened and took his sunglasses off.
"Ms. Gibbens. I missed seeing you yesterday."
"I...I know. I'm sorry, I had to stay home and..."
He stepped closer, lifting his hand to her chin and turned her face. He noticed her flinch when his hand came up. "Some shiner."
She looked away and shrugged. His touch was soft, unlike her father. "I told you I was a klutz. Bruises come with the territory."
There were unshed tears, threatening to fall. "Is everything okay at home?"
She nodded without really answering and without looking into his face.
He handed her the paper she'd left. "You left this on Monday at the lab." then when the unspoken question spread over her face he shook his head quickly. She thought he was telling her it was over. The desperation to continue volunteering there was all over her face. "Would you like a ride in today? I can pick you up from school if you'd like."
She reached a shaky hand up to take the paper and cleared her throat. Smiling tremulously she took a deep breath, trying to keep the emotion from being flat out apparent. "Sure."
He smiled and nodded. "See you at two thirty Ms. Gibbens."
She turned and walked into the building, noticing the whispers. Some good, some bad, some made her laugh. It was amazing how much people assumed when they knew nothing.
She lit up when she walked out of school to see him standing on the passenger side of the SUV, smiling a brilliant smile. "Ms. Gibbens." and he opened the door for her when she got to it.
"Horatio." then she got in and buckled up as he got into the drivers side. "Hey can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
She smiled remembering he'd answered that same question with that same answer the first time they met. "Why do you always call me Ms. Gibbens and never just Charli?"
He studied her. "If it bothers you, I'll try to work on it. It's just how I address people most of the time."
"I didn't say it bothered me. I just...wondered."
He smiled lightly. "I'll still try to work on it, Charli."
"I've noticed most everyone calls you H at work. I never asked. Would you prefer I call you that? Or Horatio, or Lt. Caine or..."
Smiling again, he broke in. "H or Horatio is fine. Either, or, whatever you're comfortable with. Most people just call me H because it's easier."
She nodded and smiled. "Okay."
They arrived at the lab and he lead her up to the fourth floor. "Walter is out in the field right now so I'm going to pair you up with Natalia today."
"Okay." and he lead her back to where she was. Getting there before three was definitely different, and even though it was only fifteen minutes, it was enough to make her smile. She had worked hard and had paid attention to everything when she dropped a flask in the sink and cut the palm of her hand open. She hadn't even realized what she had done it at first, she couldn't feel it. All she felt was horror and panic because she'd broken lab property.
Natalia's head shot straight up when she hard the glass shatter and she was more worried about the blood that was now pooling in the sink. "Oh my gosh, Charli are you alright?"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to break the flask. It was an accident."
She stepped closer and turned the water on, holding the girls hand under the faucet. "Honey I'm not worried about the flask." then she studied the cut that was now starting to puff up from the glass still in there. "We need to get you to the emergency room."
She pulled her arm back. "No. No I can't. He'll never let me come back if he finds out. Please. You can't take me."
Horatio stepped into the room hearing the commotion. "Can't take you where?"
"N...nowhere." she stammered. "It's just a cut. It'll be fine. I'm sorry about the flask. I didn't mean to. It was an accident."
"Okay Charli, I'm going to need you to calm down and take a breath." She did so and he nodded. "Okay, now what happened?"
Natalia spoke up. "She dropped a flask and it broke in her hand in the sink. There's still a piece of glass in her palm and she needs stitches. But she doesn't want go to the emergency room."
"I can't. You don't understand. If he finds out I got hurt...I need this. I need this place. I can't lose..."
"Charli, calm down. I happen to know of someone in the building who can put stitches in your hand and we can do it without taking you to the hospital."
She nodded and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She squatted down realizing she felt light headed, most likely from panicking. Horatio dug his cell phone from his pocket. "Alexx, I need you to come up here please. I have a staff member here that needs a piece of glass removed and stitches in her hand." and he listened before clicking off the phone. "She'll be right here. She doesn't have anything for the pain, but she can stitch it up, and you wont ever have to tell anyone."
She nodded, trying to keep the tears from falling. She had to keep the tears from falling. Pain was nothing. She could tolerate pain. She couldn't tolerate not being a part of the team any more. Not being able to work towards finding out who killed her mother. She was so close.
Standing back, he watched as Alexx cleaned, extracted the glass then stitched Charli up. It had taken four stitches to get it back and when she was done, she threw a band-aid over the stitches. She smiled after putting everything back up. "You are probably the quietest live patient I've ever had. Especially to have nothing to numb you with."
Charli shrugged. "I didn't really feel it anyway." she replied softly.
Alexx's eyebrows rose lightly. "I know I would have if it had been me. You're tough, kid."
She hopped off the table she had been sitting on in the lab and almost fell. "Sorry." she said lightly, as Horatio reached out to grab her falling frame.
"It's alright. Are you okay?"
She nodded then fell almost into him, grateful he was there. Then she smelled something familiar and...no. No way. There was only one other time she... "I...I'm okay. Just a little light headed."
"Here." and he led her to the seat beside the wall. "Why don't you sit, and put your head between your knees. Breathe through your nose, and out through your mouth."
She nodded. "Okay." and she did so. Then a sickening thought came to her. "What...what time is it?"
"It's only four fifteen. You have time before you have to leave." and he followed Alexx out into the hallway.
She turned and spoke lowly. "Someone is beating that kid. She's got a bruise on her arm that looks like fingers wrapping around. It's just under her sleeve but I could see it when I was stitching."
He nodded. He'd known he was right about that, but she had just confirmed it. "She's scared to death of him too."
"That is apparent. She was shaking the entire time I was putting the stitches in and I have never seen anyone hurt themselves that bad and still not at least show some sign of pain. She acts like she's not allowed to cry."
"She probably isn't." and he turned back toward Charli. He put his hand on her back, where she still had her head between her knees and she jumped. "Easy. I was just checking on you."
She sat up straight and stood slowly. "I don't feel real good."
"Come on sweet heart. Lets get you home."
"Can you drop me off..."
"Not today. I'm going to make sure you get in safe."
She leaned against him and nodded.
When he walked into the apartment, he immediately noticed the smell of beer and whiskey. There was a hole in the door leading to the bathroom and there were several things that had been broken and attempted to be fixed. She sat down on the couch and leaned back.
"What time is it?"
"Quarter to five."
"You have to go. My dad doesn't like anyone to be in the house but me and I don't need to give him any excuses to stop me from..."
"Charli, I'm not going to let anything happen. Lay back and rest."
She was tired. But she needed to make sure he was out of here. Her dad would be so mad. "But the neighbors..."
"Rest." he reiterated. Then he sat down next to her, and waited.
When the door was thrown open an hour later she shot straight up from her sleeping state, in a panic. But instead of rage and irritation, there was a pleasantness in his tone that belied the undertones that scared her. "Well Charli. You didn't tell me we were going to have company tonight. I would have brought something home."
Horatio stood and put his hand out. "I'm not staying. She wasn't feeling good when she got out of school and I wanted to make sure that she was alright." Then he gave a quick shrug. "Plus, I thought I should meet you anyway."
"Whys that?" he asked, almost defensive. The man towered over Horatio by at least six inches, and was a brute of a man.
His hair was the same color as Charli's but his eyes were hazel green and not the light amber that hers were. He finally took the mans hand. "Lieutenant Horatio Caine. Charli has been doing an amazing job at the lab and I just wanted to let you know, we're all really honored to have the opportunity to work with her."
"Really? She's not a klutz around the lab or anything? She has a habit of running into things."
He eyed him carefully. "She actually does quite well. It suits her."
"Well." and he glared at her form, now trying to get something to eat. "I guess it's a good thing then. Like I told her before, as long as it doesn't interfere with her responsibilities here, and her school doesn't suffer, it ain't hurting anything her going."
He nodded. "Alright. Well, I better get going. Charli, I'll see you tomorrow then."
She smiled shakily. "Tomorrow." She prayed it would come.
Someone was knocking on her door. She really should get up. But she couldn't seem to find the energy. What was wrong with her? Someone was calling her name from far away. A mans voice. Soothing. Her eyes opened and blue eyes were sparkling back at her. Where was she? "H?"
"Shhh. There you are. Don't try to talk." he turned to Walter. "We need to get her to the hospital."
"No...H please."
"Come on sweet heart. We're going to get you some help." He picked her small frame up and worried when her body went lax in his arms. He had expected something to go wrong after meeting her father the night before. But when he got a phone call from the teacher he'd talked to, because she didn't show up at school that morning, he knew something was wrong. He had grabbed Walter in case of a confrontation, but what they found when he got to her front door had shocked him.
He had knocked on the door a few times and the neighbor across the hall had come out. She'd told him that Charli hadn't been out of the house but that her father had already left for work. Then she gave him the spare key that she had in case Charli ever locked herself out.
When he opened the door, he saw her there, laying on the couch, on her side. Her breathing was shallow and he could see the finger prints bruised around her neck. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Charli? Can you hear me?" but she hadn't responded. He tried again. "Charli? Come on honey. Look at me. Open your eyes."
She had finally answered him but he could tell she was in a lot of pain and it had been hard for her to do that. She had protested going to the hospital but he wasn't going to leave her side this time. He'd had no doubt that her father had done it because she'd allowed someone to be there other than herself and she hadn't 'done her chores' before he got home. He'd had no idea though that it would be that bad.
Getting in the back seat and putting her in there, he held her and had Walter floor it to the closest hospital. She still hadn't regained consciousness by the time they got there and he impatiently paced until the doctors came out to give them a diagnosis.
"You the one that brought her in?" the blond hair, brown eyed doctor asked.
Horatio stood up. "I am."
She gestured for him to follow her. "She's in critical condition. Her liver is bruised, we had to remove her spleen completely, there are several cracked ribs and there's some internal bleeding in the abdomen that we can't determine the source of. We're going to keep it closely monitored but I'm allowing you back there."
He nodded.
"She hasn't regained consciousness yet, and that could very well be to do with the sheer amount of pain she was probably in. We've got her on something for the pain but I don't know when she'll wake up."
He nodded again and walked into the room.
"Her oxygen saturation level is a little on the low side, so we're pushing air, just to be safe. She seems to be having a little trouble breathing and that's probably due to the slight swelling around her neck from whoever did this to her."
He grabbed the loose chair in the room, pulled it next to the bed and sat down, taking Charli's fragile hand in his own. It was so cold. He took it in both of his and looked up as one of his people, appeared in the window.
"H?"
"Get him Natalia. Before I do."
The menace in his voice was something she only heard when someone did something to women, children or one of his team. And this man, had definitely done something to not only a child, but a member of his team. She nodded, not questioning what he meant or how he meant it. She walked back into the waiting room. "We need to get this guy, now."
"How is she?"
She shook her head. "It doesn't look good."
"Then let's go."
She opened her eyes but was too weak to say anything at one point. She squeezed a hand that was in hers, but it was hard to tell who it was. Only that it was warm when it squeezed back. She could hear someone talking, but couldn't understand any of it. Her eyes closed again and like a dream she heard Horatio from miles away telling her it was alright, that she was safe. Safe. The concept was strange to her. She'd been fighting for so long to just hang on. She was tired of fighting.
They had taken her back in for an MRI to find out where the bleeding was and had finally determined it was stopped. Her body had been fighting infection from where the stitches in her hand, had been covered with metal shavings, most likely when her father had picked her up or slung her around at one point. Her temperature had jumped up in the course of the night and they had been fighting keeping it down.
The next day, she woke up again and could actually see what she was looking at. She felt the hand in hers squeeze once again and she looked around. "Hey." she got out, whispering.
"Hey." and he smiled a half smile.
"What...happened?"
"What do you remember?"
She thought back. "He was mad. He was..." and she took a deep breath and tried to sit forward.
Horatio stood up and pushed her shoulders back lightly against the bed. "Take it easy. You're okay. You're safe. He can't hurt you."
"You don't understand. He's going to..."
"Honey he can't do anything. He's in jail for attempted murder and probably going to be there for the next twenty years or so."
She relaxed, then set there stunned. Had he just really said that? "What?"
He nodded. "You'll have to testify, but he's going away for a long time."
Her breath let out and she closed her eyes as a million worries disappeared. A few new ones would take their place, but all in good time.
When he found her, she was actually on the roof of the building. She'd been there a lot lately. For whatever reason, it was a place of solace for her. She'd finished school, actually gotten emancipated due to extenuating circumstances, and moved to Natalia's house, and was renting a room from her. It had been a very busy six weeks for her. She was working now at the lab doing odds and ends jobs, never in the field but around the fourth floor.
When he'd asked Calleigh if she'd seen her, she'd lifted her chin to signify that Charli had gone up there. He'd been doing some looking, for her, into her mother's murder case, and felt like he'd been hit in the gut when he realized that he'd worked on her case when he'd been just a homicide detective. He had no idea if she'd even known it or not, but he knew he had to tell her.
He wondered if she would still blame him, or if she'd even remember blaming him for anything so many years ago. He picked up his sunglasses and stepped out the door, sliding them on. He spotted her instantly and walked up behind her. "You know I don't like it when you lean on that railing Ms. Gibbens."
She half smiled and couldn't help it when she fired back. "So you keep telling me Mr. Caine."
He smiled leaned on the railing beside her. "Listen, Charli, I...I need to tell you something. And it's going to be hard for you probably to know this, but I..."
"Did you know..." she interrupted. "Did you know that cologne and even some aftershaves, smell different on every man, based on the pheromones their bodies produce?"
He stopped, not sure where she was going with it. "I did."
She nodded lightly before continuing. "When I was eight, my mother was murdered. I've had suspicions who cut the brake lines on our car, but I remember this cop pulling me out of the glade where the car had flipped and started sinking. I remember putting my head on his shoulder as he carried me to the ambulance and I've never forgotten the way his aftershave and cologne smelled together." She shook her head ruefully, remembering that time in her life. "I was so angry with the way everything happened and the injustice of it, that I blamed everyone and everything around me, and refused to see what was right in front of me." She shrugged, still not looking up at the face of the man who was now turned toward her, while she talked. "I've only smelled that combination of Old Spice aftershave and Polo cologne one other time in my life. It was when this crime scene investigator, that I decided to trust, wrapped his arm around me so I didn't fall when I cut my hand open in the lab a few weeks ago and felt light headed."
He stared at her for a moment and a wave of emotion crossed his face. She'd known the whole time, and she hadn't been mad. "You never said anything."
"Oh I said plenty when I was eight years old. And I'm sorry." For the first time since he'd come to talk to her, she looked at him. "I never should have yelled at you the way I did. I didn't understand..." and she brushed the tears that were starting to run down her face. "I knew once you started looking into it for me, what you would find. And at one point I almost stopped you. But I wanted to know, so bad."
"Why would you want me to stop?"
She shrugged. "I was scared you would figure out who I was and then be mad."
"Mad?"
"I said some really mean things." she whispered softly.
"Hey." he said gently. He reached up with his knuckle and wiped a tear away. "You were eight. And you're right. You didn't understand. But you were eight. It's okay that you didn't understand. You were going through an incredibly stressful time, that no child should have to go through. I could never, in all fairness, hold anything you said, against you. I probably would have done and said the same things, had that happened to me at eight."
She took a deep breath and let it out then looked up at him again. "Really?"
He nodded and smiled. "Really."
Without thinking about it, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. He'd been surprised, she normally didn't show any emotion at all, but she'd been working on it with Natalia. His arms went around her in return and she breathed in, taking a deep breath through her nose.
"Never stop wearing Old Spice and Polo."
He laid his cheek on the top of her head and smiled. "Not a chance."